


Not At Fault

by verybi_verytired



Category: The Umbrella Academy (Comics), The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Child Abuse, Child Neglect, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Loved Ones Being Hurt As Punishment, No Incest, Not Really A Happy Ending, Please tell me if I missed any important tags!, Protective Siblings, Sibling Bonding, Violence, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-02
Updated: 2019-05-02
Packaged: 2020-02-16 07:50:15
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18687235
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/verybi_verytired/pseuds/verybi_verytired
Summary: Number Five is punished for trying to help his brother.





	Not At Fault

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt from moonbeamnights on Tumblr:** "So, I was thinking for chained to a bed Klaus gets put in the mausoleum and 1 of the siblings (no preference who) goes to check on him but Reginald catches the sibling, beats them (potentially in front of Klaus), and chains them to their bed so they can't go back. And when Klaus gets home he goes to see that sibling and they comfort each other."
> 
> Hopefully this is something like what you were hoping for lol
> 
> This checks off a square on my Bad Things Happen bingo card: Chained To A Bed.

“Shit.”

Klaus, who had been startled from his panic attack by a flash of blue, looked up and squinted to see past the bright flashlight being directed at him. Out of all the kids in the house, it really shouldn’t have surprised him that it was Five who figured out what his ‘private training’ really was.

“Hey, Five! You come to join my little party?” Klaus asked, holding up one of his bottles of water. He tried to smirk at the boy, tried to infuse enough playfulness into his tone to make him laugh, but the fresh tears on his cheeks and the scratches on his arms kind of ruined it.

“Shit.” Five repeated, ignoring the crying teen’s words. He put his flashlight down and approached his brother. He could see the obviously self-inflicted scratches on the boy’s arms and the bloody mess of his fingertips and if he turned around he was sure he would see a mess of blood on the stone door. He crouched so he could reach out and took one of the boy’s hands in his own, frowning when he saw the amount of dirt in the wounds. “These are going to get infected if they aren’t cleaned soon.” He murmured, mostly to himself.

“No, no. They’ll be fine.” Klaus had to force himself to pull his hand away. The touch hurt, but it was also so warm and comforting that it made him want to breakdown. He leaned subconsciously toward his brother, seeking the warmth he gave off. With the light on and the other teen present, the ghosts were more or less silent, couple that with feeling some sort of warmth for the first time in four days and he was on the verge of tears. He sniffled and tried to smile when Five took off his blazer and wrapped it around him.

“Not that I’m not super happy to see you, but dear old dad is gonna be here soon to check on me and he won’t be happy if he sees you here.” He had to force the words out. He wanted nothing more than to ask the other boy to sit with him, or better yet get him out of there, but he knew it would be terrible for both of them if Reginald ever found out.

“I’ll be fine. I can jump out of here before he can even get the door open.” Five said with a self-confident smirk. He reached out for one of the water bottles in Klaus' stack and used it to start cleaning the thinner boy’s hands. “Does he always put you in here?” He asked, not really wanting to hear the answer. He felt a little nauseous at the idea that all those times they had been told Klaus was doing personal training he was probably in a place like this.

“Yeah.” Klaus closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the cold marble wall. He tried to relax as the shorter teen gently rinsed off the scratches on his arms and hands. He refused to let himself feel self-conscious about the self-harm when the pain was the only thing that helped him remember he was alive and real after days spent with nothing but ghosts for company. “Well sometimes we go to the cemetery on the other side of town and I get locked up there, but yeah, it's always a shit-hole like this.”

Klaus could see the brewing anger on his brothers face, but the other teen's hands stayed gentle as could be. He felt a warmth blooming in his chest and bit back more tears. It was very rare that anyone actually showed they cared about him.

He opened his mouth, probably to say something sappy that would get him an eye-roll or a little shove, but before he could say anything he heard the echoing footsteps of their father coming toward the heavy marble slab that acted as a door. He watched his brother's eyes widen before the shorter boy grabbed the flashlight and disappeared in a flash of blue. The light disappeared before the door was open so Klaus relaxed, thinking everything would be fine.

He blinked up at his father when the man stepped into the room, swallowing hard when the man looked him over.

“Who was here, Number Four?” The man demanded, making Klaus flinch. He should have known the man would know something was up since he wasn’t screaming and crying like usual and his hands were obviously clean, but he had been hoping the old man would simply think he was overcoming his fears.

“No one?” He replied, crossing his legs and aiming for non-nonchalance. He raised a hand to wipe his tear-stained face, wincing when his tender fingers came into contact with his skin. “Not unless you count Martha there -” He pointed to a spot near the side wall. “She doesn’t like you much – says you dress like her second husband.”

“Enough, Number Four!” The man drove his cane into the ground, the sound making the skinny child jump. “That’s not your blazer, Number Four. It's much too large in the shoulders, too small in the arms, and you weren’t wearing it when I checked on you last. So, I’ll ask one more time – who was here?”

Klaus lifted his chin in defiance and kept his mouth shut. He felt dread fill him when the angry man stalked forward and grabbed him by the collar to read the tag in the back of the blazer.

“Number Five, was it?” Reginald spat the name and carelessly threw Klaus back into the wall. Before the medium could recover the man was already closing the marble door, leaving the boy to panic in the dark.

Reginald was far from a nice father – the man had a short fuse and had no qualms about hitting a child who acted out. Klaus had seen all of his siblings be slapped at least once but he knew none of them ever got the same treatment he did. He was regularly slapped around for talking out of turn, and when he really did something the man didn’t like, it wasn’t unusual for him to need Grace to patch him up. The broken jaw the year before has been the worst injury he had received from the man – not because of the pain (the broken arm when he was 9 hurt the most), but because the rest of the kids teased him for getting himself hurt and he hadn’t been able to open his mouth to correct them.

Klaus was pulled from his terrified musings of what his brother might be facing for helping him by the door being opened again and Number Five being thrown onto the ground in front of him.

“I’ll ask you one last time Number Four – who came to pay you a visit? Was it Number Five?” The man asked, as if he didn’t already know the answer.

Klaus felt fear freeze his insides at the red handprint on his brother's face and shook his head. “No, sir! No one came to see me!” He shouted, pushing himself up onto his feet.

“Stop lying to me, boy!” Reginald once again used the end of his cane to force Klaus against the wall, this time hard enough that he had to blink a few times to be able to focus his eyes.

“I did it. I was curious about where Four was going off to and what kind of training he was gettin-” Five’s head snapped to the side from the slap he received for speaking out. He brought a shaking hand up to feel the hot skin, glaring at their father.

“I’ll deal with you in a moment.” He didn’t even spare Five a glance as he said that, eyes trained on Klaus’ reaction. “I want to hear Number Four say it first. Admit that you made your brother break the rules, Four, and I’ll go easy on him.”

“I-I did it. I wanted him to find me – to help me -even though I don’t deserve it.” Klaus stepped forward as he spoke, feeling rather frantic and unsure what to say to get his brother out of trouble for helping him. "I made him do it! It's not his fault."

“Very good.” Reginald took out a pair of handcuffs and attached one side to one of Klaus’ wrists and the other to a metal support pole. He ignored Four’s frantic effects to pull his hand free and Five’s protesting as he turned to his other son. He reached out for the boy with one hand and raised the other, bringing it down harshly against the boys face in the same place as before.

Klaus sobbed as he watched it happen. The red hand print was starting to turn into a nasty bruise and he felt sick looking at it.

“Perhaps I’ve been too lenient with you, Number Five,” Reginald said as he tossed the boy to the floor. “You've always been an ungrateful brat but at least you have a rather interesting and  _useful_  power, unlike Four.”

“And you’ve always been a sick asshole, locking your kids up like anim-” He was cut off with a gasp, curling into himself. Slapping was one thing - he hadn’t expected his father to kick him. He was pretty sure his ribs were bruised now, if not cracked.

“I only do what must be done! All of the others have gotten over their childish fears except Number Four! He could be so much more if he would actually try for once!” The man punctuated his statement with another well-aimed kick, making the teen groan and cough.

“Please stop!” Klaus pleaded from his place on his knees. He was crying so hard that his throat hurt and he felt like he was going to throw up.

“Quiet!” The man yelled at Klaus, sneering when the skinny teen only sobbed harder. “If you would grow up and stop acting out, you wouldn’t get punished and you wouldn’t get your brother punished!”

Klaus covered his mouth and tried to control himself in hopes that it would get Five out of the mausoleum without any more injuries. He found himself catching his brother’s eye and having to look away when all he saw was concern and anger, the anger seeming to only be directed at their father. How could his brother not hate him for getting him into this mess?

“Very good, Four.” Klaus hated himself for the way he reacted to the praise. He felt sick but, at the same time, he felt good to be doing something right for once. God that was fucked up. “Perhaps I should use your siblings to punish you more often – maybe then you’ll do as you're told for once.”

“God, you’re twisted.” Five said, shaking his head as he sat up. Klaus inhaled sharply as he watched his father register the words and raise his cane, hitting Five with it and knocking him unconscious. Klaus froze, not even breathing, until he saw his brother’s chest move, afraid for a moment that he had just witnessed his brother’s murder. He looked up at his father with pure hatred as the man used his pocket square to clean off the handle of the cane.

“I’m adding a day to your training. Grace will bring you more water and food tomorrow.” The man told him, all the anger from a moment before replaced by a frightening calm.

Klaus didn’t bother responding. He just watched the old man pick up the unconscious child and carry him out the door. It wasn’t until the room was once again pitch black that he realized he was still chained to the pole.

~

Three days later Klaus was finally released.

He was escorted from the mausoleum straight to the bath and then brought to dinner by Grace. He tried to eat but he couldn’t help but notice that Five wasn’t at the table. Instead of eating he pushed his food around, eyes trained on the spot where his brother should be sat until they were excused. While he helped Vanya clear off the table he asked her where Five was, frowning when she told him he was sick and that no one was allowed to visit him.

Klaus busied himself with catching up on his homework with Ben until it was time for bed, then he lied awake for well over an hour just to be sure his father would be asleep. He put a couple of pillows under his blanket in case someone looked in his room to check for him before sneaking out.

He picked the lock to Five’s door and had to cover his mouth when the door swung open.

Five was laying on his side with his hands cuffed behind him, and those cuffs were attached to the headboard of the bed and Klaus noticed how red the skin under the cuffs was. On closer inspection, he could see the fading bruises on his brother's cheek and the bandaged wounds on his temple and he felt his eyes water.

Determined to be helpful Klaus turned around and tip-toed to the bathroom, grabbing the first-aid kit from under the sink before returning to his brother. He locked the door behind him came to sit on the edge of the teen’s bed, helping the boy sit up.

“I’m so sorry,” Klaus whispered as he picked the lock on the cuffs with shaking hands. “This is my faul-”

“It’s not your fault. Reginald is a piece of shit.” Five interrupted, his voice soft and calm, even with dried tears on his face. “I know he said it was your fault but it’s not, Klaus. I made the decision to come to you because what he was doing isn’t okay. You didn’t force me to do anything, and you didn’t force him to hit me.”

Klaus found himself nodding even though he didn’t actually believe Five.

If he wouldn’t act out, if he would do what he was told and would just stop running from his powers, he wouldn’t get punished. If he hadn’t gotten punished then he wouldn’t have complained like a baby about training and then Five wouldn’t have checked on him and wouldn’t have also gotten punished for doing it.

“I mean it, Klaus. I know he’s gotten into your head and that you probably don’t believe me, but I really don’t blame you.” Klaus didn’t bother responding to that as he carefully took the cuffs off his brother and then busied himself with the first-aid kit. He heard Five deep sigh and was grateful when the other teen stayed quiet and let Klaus clean him up.

Usually, it was Klaus who was trying to comfort his siblings. He was used to cracking jokes and being the voice of (emotional) reason when someone was having a bad day. He felt pretty out of his element having his brother try to comfort him – especially since his brother was the one who had obviously been chained up for days, likely only let out of the cuffs by Grace for bathroom breaks and food.

With his wrists cleaned up Five raised his arms and pulled Klaus in close, breathing in the scent of his soft curls. He always smelt fruity and soft, and it was kind of comforting. He had never really been big on hugs, but more than once he had let Klaus comfort him after a nightmare or a bad mission. As he felt his brother tremble he wondered if anyone ever did this for him after a bad day. Ben probably did, but besides that Five was pretty sure everyone avoided the ‘troublemaker’ of the house. It was pretty obvious to him that Klaus needed someone to comfort him and remind him that Reginald was a waste of space who was wrong.

“Thanks for that.” Five said as he let the boy go so he could stretch his arms out. He stood up and winced when his knees popped. He had always been a pretty active kid, so being forced to lay still for days was killer on his body. Everything ached in a way he hadn’t dealt with before and he hated it. “I’ll need you to tie me up again in the morning though.”

Klaus, who was feeling a little more grounded and calm after the hug, flopped onto his back on the small bed. “Kinky.” He winked dramatically and cracked his first smile in days when Five rolled his eyes at him. He was still smiling while he arranged himself to be more comfortable. He knew Five was right about needing to be locked up again and he didn’t like it, but he also hated the idea of being the reason his brother got punished again.

Five crawled back into bed after stretching a bit, wanting to get some real sleep. The handcuffs had been uncomfortable enough that they made sleep hard, especially with the weird angle they forced his arms into. Reginald had cuffed his hands behind his back so he couldn’t use his powers before cuffing him to the bed. 

“If you hog the blanket I’ll stab you.” Five mumbled into his pillow while trying to pull said blanket over them both.

“Promise?” Klaus giggled as he dodged his brother's weak slap. He took pity on the tired boy and pulled the blanket up over them both. He was beyond happy that he wasn’t being asked to leave and that he got to get to spend the night with his brother, even if he would have to get up early and re-cuff the boy.

Five let Klaus settle before he moved slightly, pressing his side against his brother's. He wasn’t the type to cuddle, but he could handle a little contact. From the way the curly haired boy relaxed, the contact, as minimal as it was, was much appreciated. It didn’t take more than five minutes for Klaus to drift off; Five was sure Klaus had gotten even less sleep than he had over the last three days since Five didn’t have the screams of the dead keeping him up. With his exhausted brother asleep Five finally relaxed enough to drift off himself.

Before he did he cuddled up to the warmth Klaus had to offer (okay, sue him, maybe he did like cuddling). He watched his brother sleep for a few minutes and made a promise to himself to keep the boy safe, to keep all his siblings safe, from everyone and everything – especially Reginald.

~

He didn’t keep his promise though.

In fact, it was less than a week later that Five stormed out after a fight with Reginald and he didn’t return for years.

**Author's Note:**

> Leave a kudos and/or a comment if you enjoyed it!
> 
>  
> 
> [Come throw prompts at me on Tumblr!](http://www.verybi-verytired.tumblr.com)


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